Skip to main content

Remember Where You Were...

By
...When you first heard the name Wladimir Mendoza. Over at Get Up Baby! they have the following take on the prize prospect on the Card's Venezuelan team (evidently we do have one of those):

But one pitcher stands out enough to not only make the Not-Top Twenties on an exception, but to be the official Get Up, Baby! Longshot Prospect of 2007. Our patron saint, if you will, since I’ve heard exactly one sentence about his abilities from someone who’s seen him play. And that player is Wladimir Mendoza. His numbers–which admittedly need to be taken with a huge grain of salt–speak volumes:

IP H BB K HR K/9 BB/9 K:BB ERA
75.2 50 47 89 2 10.59 5.59 1.89 2.26

That appears to be the work of a live arm. But ten of his runs allowed came in two miserable outings. Let’s take those out, and see what we have left.

IP H BB K HR K/9 BB/9 K:BB ERA
66.0 38 36 82 2 11.18 4.91 2.28 1.23

So he was old for his league–20–and his control was still pretty bad, but when his command wasn’t totally off he was off-the-charts dominant. According to an interview of Jeff Luhnow, VP of player development, that Scout.com conducted a while back, he’s got a fastball that sits in the low-90s and “the makings of a good breaking pitch.” In the Liga Paralela, a Venezuelan winter league, he allowed one earned run and struck out nineteen in fifteen innings pitched. We probably won’t hear from him again until short season leagues open up in June, but when that happens he’ll get the first sidebar spot since I tracked Rick Ankiel’s first season as an outfielder. Let’s hope this goes a little better.


It is the season to get worked up about kids you will probably never see in a big league uniform. What else is there to do until pitchers and catchers report?

Speaking of propects, if you haven't checked out Future Redbirds yet, do so. It is one stop shopping for the Cards farm system. Can't live without weekly Rick Ankiel updates? Future Redbirds is the place for you.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Salt Lake Follies

By
More on the saga of Real Salt Lake : On the third day, it was risen. A bill emerged Thursday on Utah's Capitol Hill that could bring a Real Salt Lake stadium to Sandy and salvage Utah's two-year-old soccer franchise, which is being aggressively courted by investors in St. Louis. If the measure passes - it was crafted behind closed doors this week with the blessing of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson and legislative leadership - it would snatch at least $20 million for the project out of Salt Lake County coffers, which critics allege could result in a countywide property-tax hike. The move to revive a stadium in Sandy spells the end of talk to relocate RSL to the Utah State Fairpark in Salt Lake City or the former Geneva Steel site in central Utah County. Late Thursday, RSL released a statement saying the Geneva location, owned by Anderson Development, is "not a viable option for our team or the stadium project." "We are no longer ent...
1 comment
Read more

Ticking Off My Friend From Salt Lake

By
Real Salt Lake seems to be holding on by the skin of it's teeth. Now you've got prominent folks out in Salt Lake bitch slapping Checketts in the press . I'm sure that is a BIG help. Then when you read things like the following : "I expect it to come together quickly or not at all," Valentine said, suggesting a deal could come within a week. All or nothing??? In a week? Sounds ominous. Or, Meanwhile, MLS sources say Checketts has received clearance from the league to explore relocating his two-year-old franchise and possibly selling it to "serious" investors in St. Louis. Salt Lake City's mayor referred to such a possible sale as reason to cancel Wednesday's council meeting. "Mr. Checketts may have sold the team by this afternoon," Anderson said. The mayor also didn't want to discuss soccer in public, saying the news media could "screw things up for us." That's right. It would be the media's fault. So Re...
Post a Comment
Read more

Early Thoughts on City 2025

By
There are few things harder to keep track of than an MLS side in their off-season, at least for me. Despite the fact it takes place roughly during the time the MLB Hot Stove season is in full swing, it is nowhere near as easy to follow along with as baseball. Part of it is how disconnected MLS is with the international soccer calendar. St. Louis City SC is still digesting the moves it made last summer even though those players have already played important games for the club. It is all weird and disjointed, and I always feel like I am playing catch-up. Happily, the moves made in the off-season this year were not numerous.  German Timo Baumgartl comes over from Europe as an option at center back, which is good because that was a position that was a little rocky for City last season. Given his own troubles over the last few seasons (cancer and uneven play in the aftermath of that), a spell with City can give Baumgartl a chance to have a re-set. Given his pedigree and the fact City si...
Post a Comment
Read more